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Historical representations of the region of Israel and Palestine from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries illustrate an outsider viewpoint of the complex political, social and religious dynamics of the region.

A selection of stereo prints drawn from the vast photographic resource of UCR/CMP Keystone-Mast stereograph collection focuses on a cultural view of the region. The double images on a stereograph were seen through a hand-held viewer that would show the image as 3D. Frequently, these images were posed and staged for the most sensational view and because cameras at the time required a slow exposure. Most images were taken from 1900-1930 and depict the British and American viewpoint, seemingly translated through an over-whelming history of Christian religious mythology and theology. Such stereo prints were a popular and widely disseminated source of documentary photography. Only 50 years prior, British travelers began to first record the region through monumental photography, also shaped by their religious and historical viewpoints.

- Jennifer Patton, UCR/CMP Art History Fellow